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Johnson addresses Storen’s slower delivery after loss

By Mike Fiammetta / MLB.com

WASHINGTON — Drew Storen pitched more than one inning for the first time this season in Saturday’s 10-9 loss to the Cardinals.

Storen allowed one run on two hits and was tagged with the loss, dropping him to 1-1. Storen threw 19 of his 23 pitches for strikes, but his allowing Allen Craig to steal second base after a leadoff single in the ninth put the ultimate winning run in scoring position.

“He was slow to the plate last year, but this year — boy, he’s very deliberate,” manager Davey Johnson said. “I think he’s over two seconds on some of those deliveries. That cost him tonight.”

Being slow to the plate is an issue Johnson has addressed multiple times this season, noting the slower deliveries of particularly his younger pitchers. The Nats have allowed 132 stolen bases, 12th-most in the league, but their stolen bases-against percentage of .858 trails only the Pirates for the highest in the league.

“He’s got to quicken up just a little bit,” Johnson said of Storen. “With that move, anybody can steal. It seems to me last year, he was 1.5 [seconds]. I saw a couple of them today over two seconds.”

For his part, Storen didn’t recognize the issue, adding that he was OK with the pitches he threw.

“I don’t know,” Storen said when asked if he’s slower to the plate this season. “I’m concentrating on throwing good pitches. That’s something I need to work on and something, I guess, I need to make an adjustment on for next time.”

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